If You Want to Play the Hero, You Have to Have a Backbone: Why Workplace Anonymity is Weaksauce
Elementary school taught us, "What is right is not always popular, but we must stand up for what we believe is right and be strong." With all of the recent anonymous journalism on the Internet and in print, it seems corporate American culture has erased the idea of...
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“Lead, Follow, or Get Out the Way” for Office Dynamics
In his song "Long Live the Chief" the artist Jidenna delivers wise words: "You can either lead, follow, or get out the way." These words apply perfectly to office dynamics. In every corporate situation there are leaders, followers, and people who get in the way....
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Be on a Mission to Reach Potential, feat. The 1976 Hoosiers
The 1976 Indiana Hoosiers are considered by many experts to be the best men's college basketball team ever assembled. They boast the most recent undefeated season in men's NCAA history, and are "still unmatched by future generations." What makes this team unique isn't...
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When Peer Accountability Gets Toxic
In our work-lives we are encouraged to keep tabs on one another in order to ensure general well-being at work and at home. This might include asking how someone is feeling if she is late on a deadline, or making sure someone is doing alright at home if he is out of...
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When a DMV Leader Rips Red Tape
Wait times, grumpy visitors, and red tape permeate the atmosphere of the average Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). It's so easy to make small mistakes within the dynamic processes and procedures of each state's robust bureaucracy. Each small slip tends to yield...
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Broken Window Theory at the Office
Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani cleaned up New York City by understanding the broken window theory. The theory suggests each problem that goes unattended in a given environment affects people's attitude toward that environment and leads to more problems (see Ivy...
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Binary Honesty vs. Spectral Honesty (Part 2 of 2)
Let's look closer at significance of binary honesty to any organization. First, a recap from Part 1 of 2: Binary Honesty: Marked by truth in an either-or scenario. Spectral Honesty: Marked by subjective accuracy in response to a question, i.e., measurable on a...
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Binary Honesty vs. Spectral Honesty (Part 1 of 2)
Google the term binary honesty and you will find that it does not exist. That's because we just invented the term, having defined it as follows: Binary Honesty: Marked by truth in an either-or scenario. For example, the question "Do you follow Rip Red Tape...
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Sitting at a Desk is Not a Competition
In almost every corporation known to man, there are those who believe that the ability to sit at a desk for extended amounts of time requires talent and fortitude. It doesn't. Yet in so many offices across the globe, there is a perspective that the person who can sit...
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Office Life and Cabin Fever
It's pretty common for us office warriors to find ourselves inside of a building for eight hours per day at a minimum simply because our offices are inside. If you are a "normal" office worker, you are in/around your office from approx. 8AM to 4:30PM, preparing/eating...
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